The other day I had a lunch meeting and the topic of conversation was all things business, empowerment and one very special ingredient to success that we must all possess. And that ingredient, my darling, is something called tenacity.
According to my multiple Google searches, the definition of tenacity is the quality or fact of being very determined or continuing to exist. Engaging in your tenacity is about your persistence and your endurance. I know you can relate to that on this world-wind journey of success. You can experience ups and downs and even more downs than ups in particular season.
I like to think about our lives, in particular our success in achieving the life we want, as similar to marathons as opposed to a 100-meter sprint. Sprints are exhilarating and great to watch but they are often over in a matter of seconds. In a marathon, it is not the swift who wins it’s the one who tenaciously endures to the end. Would you prefer your legacy to be more of a sprint or a marathon?
When you run in a marathon, it is great if you aim to win but to simply say that you have participated in and completed a marathon race is an extremely remarkable achievement in itself. How many people do you know who would actually go through the intense training, dedication and resilience to run a marathon? Anyone who commits to a marathon is already a winner in my eyes. Consequently, if you are already on your journey to birth your dreams, instead of settling for average, then you are already a winner.
If you were to simply Google “how to be successful” – you would probably get millions of results. Everything from starting your day early to investing in your personal development to changing the way you think (all of which you should do) will show up on your screen. But there is that exceptional element that one cannot teach or read about in order to learn, it’s something that we must physically experience in our lives in order to achieve it and that is tenacity.
It’s like reading a book on running a marathon. You can read the book all you’d like but in order to really understand what it will take from you in order to successfully run in that marathon then you have to actually participate in those suggested activities. There is a Bible verse that says “When troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, your will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (James 1:2-3 – NLT). Therefore, your trials are developing your endurance which is developing your tenacity so that you can become stronger, more confident in your ability and prepared to successfully fulfill your purpose.
The person who has hit rock bottom and risen above it to achieve their dreams is confident in his or her ability that no matter what happens then she or he can get back up again. This marathon of success is not about how many times you fell or had to slow down for a minute, the winners are the ones who keep getting back up. That is the part of your story that is going to attract your success towards you. Success is something that you will attract by the person you become.
We have all failed. We have all made mistakes. We all have had to go through difficult seasons. You never know – your comeback may be one more week away or that “yes” that you have been waiting to hear is only a few more “no’s” away.
What I am learning is that your true character will come out when you have nothing else to stand on. Your money may be gone, you may have lost your job, you may be in debt, you may have ended a relationship, you may have lost your home but it’s there where you will get to know who you really are. I heard this quote from Joel Osteen, “If you cannot be trusted in the wilderness, then you cannot be trusted in the Promised Land.”
It is time for you to get in tune with your tenacity and make the declaration to yourself that come hook or crook you are going to keep marching forward. I do not care how bad it’s been, I am here to speak victory and breakthrough in your life. Your weeping may have endured for a night (or maybe a lot of nights) but your joy is coming in the morning.
XOXO,
Maria I. Melendez
@embraceherlegacy
www.embraceherlegacy.com